The preseason is about moments. Teams are testing and trying out different things and players are not quite playing their regular minutes. Everyone knows it has a different rhythm and cadence to it. Take it all with a grain of salt.
The moments are what you hang onto. The little bits that look like strands the team can tie together when the games start to count. There is always plenty to clean up, but there should be some sign that everything will come together.
In the Orlando Magic's preseason finale, just their third preseason game after Hurricane Milton wiped out last week's scheduled home debut, they started to put those strands together more consistently. They looked more cohesive and intense than they did in their first two preseason games.
They provided plenty of those moments in an impressive 114-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers to close their preseason.
All of those were threads the team can pull together and begin to tie as they prepare for a big season.
But the biggest moment was the one that happened in the locker room at halftime.
The team was not happy with how they closed the second quarter when the starters came in, squandering a six-point lead the bench preserved and allowing the Philadelphia 76ers to cut into the lead. If not for the best highlight of the game—a full-court alley-oop layup from Jalen Suggs to Franz Wagner with 0.6 seconds left—it would have been a down moment.
But coach Jamahl Mosley said the players challenged each other in the locker room. They did not finish the first half with the focus they needed. They were not going to let that happen again.
That proved to be the strongest thread of all.
"We let our foot off the gas in that second quarter and then they challenged themselves in the locker room to come out and do better," Mosley said after Friday's game. "Ultimately you saw that 16-point third quarter. We were moving it and sharing it. We were guarding the same way that we did in that first quarter. That is what I was most proud of for this group."
Orlando came out in the third quarter and put the hammer down, holding Philadelphia to 16 points, forcing seven turnovers in the quarter, and making a statement about who this team is and who it might be.
The Magic are still learning how to be the winning team they have quickly become. Putting their foot down to control the game and score a win is the most important thread they must pull and continue to pull.
Everything else about this team is coming together quite nicely. And that is what everyone wants to see heading into the regular season.
Ball-handlers add patience to their game
It could be Paolo Banchero continuing to show tremendous patience in plays big—like his spinning and-one layup to complete a personal 7-0 run to close the first quarter or his pass to find Gary Harris for an open three to end the second quarter—or small—like sitting in the soft spot of the zone and burying a jumper while the defense figured out how to defend him.
Banchero continues to show tremendous growth scoring 12 points in the first quarter on his way to 21 points and six rebounds in the win.
"I think he has just got a level of poise about him," Jamahl Mosley said after Friday's game. "He is really just stepping into how great he can become. He is leading out there. His voice has been solid throughout camp. His focus level of wanting to allow guys to follow him and what he's trying to do."
That leadership is being felt throughout the roster. Becuase plenty of other players had their moments too.
Anthony Black stood out again as he has all of training camp, scoring eight points and dishing out eight assists. He continued to show great control and tempo running the offense for the second unit, setting up his teammates for baskets.
No one benefited more from that than Jett Howard, who buried his first three 3-pointers in the second quarter on his way to 11 points off the bench.
Anthony Black showed plenty of advanced passes, even finding Jonathan Isaac on a cut to the basket as he hung in the air underneath it.
"Just knowing AB, he is always stepping up to the challenge," Howard said after Friday's game. "He has the utmost confidence. I see it every day this summer working with him and getting chemistry with him. He has been great all training cmap. It's much deserved I can tell you that. Just vocally commanding the offense, getting everybody in the right spot, making the right reads pretty much 95 percent of the time."
It is another tool in the toolbox the Magic are starting to pull together. That is what the team wanted to see in the preseason. Orlando needed to see this group start to tie everything from training camp together into a team that can compete at the highest levels when the regular season begins.
Everything starts on defense, including the offense
The team knows that everything starts on defense.
The Orlando Magic came out firing and energetic on the defensive end. They were extending their pressure and switching with their two lead guards, smothering the Sixers early.
As Wendell Carter said Friday morning, the Magic know they can make up for a lot of their mistakes through sheer defensive force and will. That is still evident. And that is still what is most important to know about this team.
"They know that's how they're going to get on the floor," Jamahl Mosley said after Friday's game. "That's how we have to play. That's from night in and night out. We're going to compete. You are going to be guarded at a high level. We're going to take on that challenge."
The hints and signals of a dominant defensive team were present, especially in that challenging third quarter. That is the key to success.
But everyone wants to know how the team will pull together offensively. That is the biggest element of this team that remains unknown.
The Magic mostly kept their turnovers down this game—17 turnovers for 25 Sixers points—going through bouts of inconsistent play especially toward the end of the long playing stints Jamahl Mosley promised he would put his team through to test their conditioning. But they kept the ball moving.
Orlando had 32 assists on 42 field goals. There was an emphasis on keeping the ball moving. And the more veteran players displayed more patience waiting for the right moments to attack.
That is a positive tone to set for the rest of the team and what they hope will be.
"I think the ball was popping, the ball was moving," Banchero said after Friday's game. "We got a lot of clean shots as a team. I think our process was good on offense. Everyone was getting involved and sharing the sugar. It was a good effort."
Those strings were starting to come together.
Will any of it mean something when the season begins on Wednesday? Everything is not quite tied up yet. There is still work to do before the games count and development still to come.
But the Magic faced a challenge Friday night. They faced a challenge both to apply and improve on what they have worked on all month in training camp. They faced a challenge to meet the needs of the game and they met it.
And things are indeed starting to come together.